Mexico City, November 28, 2023 - From 2022, the Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Housing Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Housing (a Habitat for Humanity initiative), New Story and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, together with researchers at the School of Business of the Universidad Panamericana, have conducted economic research with the goal of defining new models of support for the self-build housing sector.
On August 31, 2023, they shared the results of this research with various actors in the housing sector, in order to join forces and meet the needs of this sector, promoting the self-production of quality housing for the less favored sectors of Mexico.
Importance of self-production of housing
Self-produced housing is a form in which families make key decisions in the process, such as design, land location, construction, materials and supervision of activities.
This methodology takes advantage of the existing resources of the families and their environment, generating flexible solutions that adapt to the changing needs and economic capacities of the families (SEDATU 2021. Autoproducción de Vivienda adecuada en México. GIZ).
Of the 35.3 million homes, 65.4% have been acquired with own resources and approximately 20 million Mexican families self-produce their own housing (INEGI, 2020). However, only 6% of these homes were produced with professional technical assistance, which implies higher costs and makes them structurally vulnerable to natural events.
It is not simply that the houses are simple or lack basic services, but that they are at risk from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other natural events.
A problem to be solved
This problem is especially visible in urban and peri-urban environments, where families build their homes progressively according to their needs and available resources. Family growth generates housing with several family nuclei, which leads to challenges such as lack of functionality, habitability problems and, in some cases, structural defects.
Overcrowding, lack of basic services and poor housing quality have a negative impact on health and family coexistence, and also increase the risk of losing all their possessions in the event of a natural event, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
The UN's 2030 Agenda recognizes the importance of good quality and sustainable housing, as it positively impacts all of the Sustainable Development Goals.
To address this issue, representatives of organizations and companies related to housing construction and improvement were convened to better understand this sector and the opportunities offered by the self-production market.
The aim is to collaborate in the creation of new business models that meet the needs of these families and, at the same time, are profitable for the companies, establishing a mutually beneficial relationship.
We thank ANIVIP, Cemex, Concretos Reciclados, Convives, Coordinación Nacional de Autoproducción de Vivienda - INFONAVIT, Elementia, Materiales San Cayetano, MiCRO (Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization) and Alener for their participation in this effort.
Learn more about the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Universidad Panamericana here: https://www.up.edu.mx/vida-panamericana-centros-centro-de-emprendimiento/
